Forty-Third
:Chapter Forty-Three:

Taehyung was undoubted avoiding Jeongguk at all cost. In the hallways, Taehyung would make it a point to take a different route just so he wouldn't bump into the younger.

He would skip his gym class so he didn't need to see the boy. And, most surprisingly, he never showed up at lunch because he didn't want to be bothered by Newbie whatsoever.

Jeongguk thought it was ridiculous considering it wasn't even him that kissed Taehyung but rather the other way around. He just enjoyed the moment with the elder.

He wished Taehyung wouldn't avoid him this bad. They could talk about it, see why they even kissed one another, but apparently the blond didn't want that.

That didn't mean Jeongguk wasn't going to get it though.

     Taehyung was on his way to his next class, running just a few minutes late since a teacher needed him to talk about his latest assignment.

It was nothing worth staying two minutes past class for but Taehyung wasn't worried about it, just trying to make it to his next class before the final bell went off.

     That was until he was harshly tugged off to the side, the breath leaving his lungs and eyes going wide since he was startled by the unexpected action.

"What the-!" Taehyung went to yell but Jeongguk covered his mouth. He pulled the blond into a small stereotypical storage room that usually was vacant.

Once the hand was removed, Taehyung glared at him, brows tugged in. "What is wrong with you? Can't you leave me alone?"

"Why're you avoiding me?" Jeongguk cut straight to the point, giving Taehyung the same angry look.

"Avoid—? Don't flatter yourself, Newbie." The elder rolled his eyes, taking a single step back. "What do I need to avoid you for?"

"Then why are you avoiding me if you don't need to? You don't want to text back, didn't go to gym, and skipped lunch. All for what? So you wouldn't have to run into me? This is the first time I've seen you all day." Jeongguk brought up, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't afraid to confront other whatsoever.

Taehyung didn't really prepare an excuse for the boy in front of him. He didn't think he would he pulled aside into a storage room.

     "I got class to go to, Jeongguk. Whatever this is about, it can—"

"You're a real pain in the ass, Kim. It was a kiss. A simple kiss. It doesn't have to mean anything if it bothers you that bad." Jeongguk rolled his eyes, tired of the excuse he was being given.

"Fine."

"Fine." They both said, internally agreeing the kiss meant nothing and that they could move past this. Not that that's what's they really wanted to take from this but when someone was as stubborn as Taehyung, what could you expect.

     It got awkward and Jeongguk was first to break the settling silence by huffing. He turned and was going to leave the storage room but Taehyung found himself stopping the younger, pulling him back. He didn't know what came over him but the look of disappointment made Taehyung's heart ache.

In a swift motion, Taehyung pushed Jeongguk against the wall and pressed his lips up against Jeongguk's, his hands holding Jeongguk's arms down by his sides.

The younger was taken by shock, eyes wide and heart rapidly beating in his chest. He didn't fight it though, slowly easing into it and kissing back but it only lasted a second longer.

Taehyung pulled back, looking straight ahead at Jeongguk. He looked surprised by his own actions, frantically tracing Jeongguk's features with his eyes.

     "We should really talk—" Jeongguk tried to say but Taehyung shook his head.

He released Jeongguk's wrists. "We will, later though." Taehyung spoke, nodding but it was just more to himself. He then turned away and left before Jeongguk could get ahold of him.

It all went by so fast and Jeongguk had no idea what to think anymore. One moment, Taehyung's avoiding him at all costs and the next, they're locking lips and kissing in cliché storage rooms. It didn't make much sense but, nevertheless, Jeongguk felt the corners of his lips curl upward.

He couldn't deny, the kiss felt so right and had his heart rushing in his chest. What made it better is that each time they kissed, Taehyung initiated it.

***

     Jeongguk checked the address on his phone and looked up, seeing the small house with the matching house number. He supposed this was Taehyung's house.

     The black-haired teenager took some steps forward, going up to the door. He felt awfully nervous, maybe because they were going to talk about what had happened between them.

Jeongguk thought he was prepared for this but he clearly wasn't. If he were being honest, he was ready to make a sharp U-turn and walk his ass back home.

But, before he could make that decision, he was already knocking on the door, heart loud in his ears.

     The light-wood door was pulled open after the locks being turned. He was greeted by a middle-aged lady with pretty brown hair tied back into a messy bun, her complexion was a bit on the paler side but was gorgeous and clear.

She looked nothing like Taehyung Jeongguk thought. Nothing about them looked similar. Maybe it wasn't the boy's mom. Maybe it was the wrong house.

     "Hi, do you need something?" The lady asked with an accent, she waiting for Jeongguk to answer.

"Oh, um, is Taehyung here?" He asked, feeling his cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. Jeongguk was really feeling his nerves eat away at him. When was talking to people so hard?

     "He's upstairs. Want me to call him down or do you want to come inside?" The lady asked, offering an innocent smile. She had smile lines that made her look so sweet. She was undeniably gorgeous.

"Can I actually come in?" Jeongguk asked, seeing her nod and take a step aside. She then have gave Jeongguk directions to Taehyung's room, telling him to just knock to give the boy a warning.

The teen thanked her and made his way up the steps, listening to what she had told him but not before he looked on the walls.

     Jeongguk saw the cutest photo of Taehyung. The boy had to have been no more than three-years-old in the picture. He was styled in cute brown overalls and a white undershirt, a small amount of hair tied on the top of his head with little strands down in the front. He wore the brightest smile a child could have and looked absolutely adorable.

The teenager looked around at the other photos, seeing a cute family photo. The same lady from downstairs was holding a younger version of Taehyung on her lap, a man having his arm wrapped around the woman. They all were smiling happily. They looked like a cute little family.

     Jeongguk decided to stop looking around before he knocked on Taehyung's door, waiting for it to be pulled open like he did for the front door.

He didn't wait long since Taehyung was tugging his door open. He was in dark grey sweatpants and a pink T-shirt, mix-match socks on his feet. His hair was a wreck, he must've been laying back on his bed before opening the door.

"Hey, Newbie." Taehyung weakly smiled, tugging the door opened a bit further so Jeongguk could walk inside.

"Hi," Jeongguk lamely said, eyes looking around the comforts of Taehyung's bedroom. It wasn't something he expected. The boy had posters of a few bands hanging up, he also had a pretty basic room setup besides the posters on the walls.

His curtains matched his bedsheets which were a dull shade of green. He had a small rug which was a dark grey, like his sweatpants but it was just a shade lighter than that. It was welcoming almost.

"What? Is my room ugly?" Taehyung asked, noticing the way Jeongguk looked all around.

"No, just didn't think you were the type to hang up Girl's Generation posters." Jeongguk uttered, turning around to face Taehyung who stood by his now shut door.

"They're icons, Newbie, actual icons." Taehyung scoffed, shaking his head with an eye roll. "And don't get me started on Big Bang."

"Eh, Wonder Girls and Super Junior were more my type." Jeongguk commented, stuffing his hands awkwardly into his pockets. It felt like the right thing to do but only showed how nervous he was.

Then, the quietness fell upon them, bringing the awkwardness alongside.

"So . . ." Taehyung said first, Jeongguk pulling his hands from his pockets. He didn't want it to be this awkward and tense, not this early anyways.

"Who's the lady downstairs? Is that like your babysitter or something? Long term?" Jeongguk wondered, recalling her in the picture. "Is she your step-mom?"

"No, she's just my mom." Taehyung replied, walking over and taking a seat on his bed, propping his legs up.

"For real? You guys look absolutely nothing alike. I would say maybe just strong dad genes but you don't look like your dad either." Jeongguk said, pulling the desk chair out and taking a seat. He felt so out of place.

Taehyung frowned, brows tugged in as he looked at Jeongguk. "No duh I don't look like them, idiot. Why would they?"

Taehyung must've forgot Jeongguk didn't know he was adopted. Usually people know about it before they come to his house.

Jeongguk stared back at Taehyung, feeling like he was missing something vital. "You do know how DNA works, yeah? Genetics? Did you fail biology?"

"Oh!" Taehyung said and then burst into laughter, tossing his head back as he cackled. It all clicked and made sense why Jeongguk was as confused as he was. "I'm adopted, they're not my biological parents." He informed through laughs.

Then it made sense why Taehyung didn't look anything like his parents. "That would've been nice to know before I looked like an idiot." Jeongguk said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I just forgot you didn't know. I don't try to tell my business to people, especially not to you." Taehyung chuckled, his smile so precious.

"Is it hard explaining that to people? That your biological parents didn't want you?" Jeongguk asked, obviously adding some joke to his tone so Taehyung didn't take offense but he didn't, not at all since it really wasn't the case.

"I wouldn't say hard. My biological parents were unfit to be parents so they did what was best for me and put me up for adoption. It's not that they didn't want me, they just couldn't care for me." Taehyung shrugged.

"Have you ever met them?" Jeongguk wondered, genuinely being curious. It felt nice getting to know Taehyung a bit more than his enemy.

"No, I have the chance when I turn eighteen but I have no desire. Maybe when I'm much older I'll change my mind. As of now, not really." The elder confessed.

Jeongguk nodded, thinking it was an interesting topic fulfilled by amusing answers. Definitely something Jeongguk was intrigued by. But, he didn't want to stir too far from the reason he was here.

"We really should talk about . . . Us." Jeongguk said, changing the topic. "The kissing, Taehyung."

"I know," The aforementioned sighed, looking down at his lap. "I just, I don't know what to say about it."

"Well, why would you kiss me again?" Jeongguk had been wanting to ask that question ever since it happened. "You looked so spooked the first time we kissed so you decided you were going to do it again?"

Taehyung didn't know what to say. He thought and tried to put together a reasonable answer but he seriously didn't know.

"I mean," Jeongguk paused for a mere moment. "I-I enjoyed it, if that means anything." He confessed. "Anything at all."

"You did?" Taehyung looked up, brows pushed up. He watched Jeongguk nod, giving him a definite answer. With that, Taehyung sat up a bit straighter and turned so his whole body faced the younger.

"Yeah. I don't know, it just felt right when you kissed me. We've always had tension between us, you just reacted to it." Jeongguk told, admitting to what he felt.

Taehyung nodded, having a bit more of an understanding. "Well, uh . . . The tension, like you said, I felt it and everything in the moment felt so good." He told. "I just did what felt reasonable and surprised myself. As for kissing you again, I got a taste of what it was like to kiss you and . . . I just liked the way it felt."

It felt so surreal admitting that they had gotten something out of the kiss. They weren't supposed to be kissing but it wasn't supposed to feel right if that were the case.

Jeongguk hummed, thinking of what to do next. He pulled the chair forward so he was to the edge of the bed, Taehyung watching.

"So, um," Jeongguk cleared his throat. "Can— Can I kiss you? Again?" He asked nervously, feeling heat travel up his neck. He felt the adrenaline kick in. He felt like a little school boy with a crush.

The captain was taken by surprise by the question but he found himself scooting closer. "But this last time, okay? We can't keep doing this." Taehyung said. He didn't need to be too specific, they both knew exactly why they couldn't keep going around and kissing on one another. Perhaps it was just to get the last bit of closure out of it.

Jeongguk nodded. He reached his hands forward and gently cupped Taehyung's face, leaning a bit closer. "You sure?" He asked, wanting to make sure he had Taehyung's consent.

Taehyung just nodded, leaning forward by a few inches to show he wanted this.

Then, Jeongguk moved forward and pressed his soft thin lips against Taehyung's, eyes fluttered shut.

It was pure serendipity when they kissed, their bodies gradually getting closer together as their lips molded against the other.

Their hearts raced against their ribs, hands warm and touching the other teenager with caution. It was like they were afraid to make the wrong move.

There wasn't no anger or venom, it was just a simple kiss shared between the two of them, getting a feel for the waters.

A simple kiss that was suppose to only last a few seconds turned into them unable to get enough of each other. It just all felt too good.

_______
A/N:

Are we happy? Is this what we all prayed for?